Method of burning oil as gas



June 13, 1939.

QB. HILLHOUSE METHOD OF BURNING OIL AS GAS Filed Dec. 6, 1935 :NVENTOR CharlQs B.Hi11h0us9.

ATTORNEY Patented June- 13, 1939' PATENT OFFICE METHOD OF BURNING OIL AS GAS Charles B. Hillhouse, New York, N. Y., assignor to Sylvia Remsen Hillhouse, New York, N. Y.

Application December 6, 1935, Serial No. 53,238

1 Claim.

My invention relates to a method for burning oil as gas, and more particularly to a method for combustion of oil or other hydrocarbon wherein a portion of the fuel to be burned, preferably in gaseous form, is caused to combust in a manner to produce hot combustible gases which are mixed at a suitable temperature with a portion of liquid hydrocarbon to gasify it, and these mixed gases may be burned with sufiicient air completely at another point.

A main object of the invention is to provide a method wherein the fuel, preferably in the form of gas is burned as a preliminary step with insuflicient air for complete combustion so as to produce combustible gas and, thereafter, a liquid hydrocarbon fuel is intimately mixed with the hot products of partial combustion and gas to gasify the liquid fuel mixed therewith.

Another object is to provide a method wherein the oil is gasified and maintained gasified in a suitably heated state while mixed with the gases formed by the partial combustion of a portion of the made gas until the mixture is mixed with preheated air in the burner or burners.

2 Another object is to provide a control of the temperature of the gases formed by partial combustion so that, when oil is sprayed into or mixed with these gases, there will be sufiicient sensible heat in the gases to gasify the oil, but not enough sensible heat to cause any detrimental deposition of carbon at the time or point of mixing, particularly where the burners are situated at a considerable distance from the point of production.

This application is a continuation in part of my applications, Serial No. 756,689, filed December 8, 1934, now Patent 2,047,871 issued July 14, 1936, and Serial No. 679,767, filed July 10, 1933, Patent No, 1,987,401 issued January 8, 1935. In

the present application, a portion of the made oil gas is conducted to a gasifier unit where it is partly combusted to formv a hot combustible gas. I provide also a means in the form of spirally arranged cooling coils located in a manner to regulate the temperature of the hot gases of partial combustion and, thereby indirectly, the tempe'rature at which the oil, or fuel, is gasified. Additional means are provided to maintain the gasified oil in a heated state until the gasified oil and gases of partial combustion are mixed with sufficient air in the main fuel burner. This additional means may comprise a jacket for confining air that has been preheated by proximity to the gasifier unit for the purpose of maintaining a reduced temperature thereof; and which air, so preheated, is applied and used to main tain gasified oil in a suitably heated state by indirect heat exchange relation thereto preferably as a hot jacket around the conduit carrying the mixed gases. This preheated air is finally mixed, all or in part, into the made gases at the main burner or burners; which, owing to the transfer of heat from the heated air, may be po sitioned at a distance from the gasifier described. If the distance between the point of gasification 10 and the burner is short and ample means are applied to prevent materialloss of heat from the gas mixture, I may dispense with the use of the jacket.

In the accompanying drawing 15 Figure 1 shows a vertical cross-section of an oil burner constructed to carry out the method described;

Fig. 2 shows a cross-section on line 2-2 of Fig. 1; 20

Fig. 3 shows a cross-section on line 3-3 of Fig, 1; and

Fig. 4 shows a modification.

In the preferred form of apparatus shown, a gasification chamber 1 is shown as having an 25 outer heat insulating wall 2 and an inner refractory wall 3 spaced to provide an air conducting space 4. The portion of the made gases that is to be partially combusted, is supplied from a conduit 5 to a burner 10. A blower 6 supplies air to a conduit 1 which is connected to a conduit 8 which terminates in an air feed pipe 9 leading to burner II]. A valve ll serves to reduce the air supply to burner 10 to produce partial combustion, that is, enough air is used to 35 burn all the carbon in the gas to CO, but not enough air to combust the hydrogen nor make any CO2. Air from pipe 9 draws in made gas from the gas supply conduit 5 to feed gas to burner I 0.

Air from conduit I enters the space 4 at inlet 12 and passes upwardly around the heated wall 3 to become preheated. Air from the blower 6 passes also through a conduit l3 and valve 14 and an inlet 15 into a spirally arranged conduit 45 16 that surrounds the burning gas emanating from burner Ill. The air in conduit 16 extracts heat from this burning gas in an amount regulated by valve l4 and heated air leaves the conduit l6 by an outlet I! which communicates with the space 4.

The preheated air in space 4 passes upwardly and is conducted along a path to surround the gas outlet conduit, being confined in a space l8 formed between a conduit l9 and a wall 20. The 55 gases from chamber I pass upwardly through an outlet throat 2| into the conduit IS. The oil for gasification is supplied from a pipe 22 and is sprayed into the throat 2! by means of an oil in jecting device 23, which is controlled by the valve 24.

Oil sprayed into the throat 2| is gasified and is maintained in a gasified state by\ indirect transfer of heat thereto from the heated air in the space 18, which air functions as a heated transfer medium, hence this oil gas may be efliciently conducted an appreciable distance from the chamber l to burners 25 or 26. Heated air from the space It is supplied to the burner 25 through air port 2! and the oil gas is supplied through the gas port 28.

The air passing through the spiral conduit l6 serves to absorb excess heat from the gases of partial combustion in the chamber l before the oil fuel is sprayed into these gases at the throat 2| so that the mixture may be reduced in temperature. The temperature of the gases and gasified oil admitted to the conduit [9 is so regulated that the mixture will have a temperature of about 600 degrees F. or below a temperature at which there will be any deposit of carbon. The conduit or chamber I9 is, in efiect, separate from the, combustion chamber I, and may be structurally associated with the latter in any desired manner providing that hot gases generated in the latter may be passed into the chamber I9, to gasify oil sprayed thereinto.

In order to maintain a complete gas cycle, my invention includes the feature of returning unconsumed gas from the burners to the point where the new oil-gas is being formed. To accomplish this purpose, the excess gas is drawn off at a point adjacent the burner through an outlet 29 into a return conduit 30 and is discharged at an outlet nozzle 3| into the gas stream that enters conduit 99. A pump 32 may be used in conduit 30 to facilitate the passing of a portion of gas to the burner I0 and the return of the balance of this unused gas to conduit I9.

In Fig. l, the gas return conduit 30 is shown as enclosed within the jacket wall 20 in a manner to maintain the temperature of the returned gas substantially equal to the temperature of the gas in the conduit IS.

A pilot burner 33 is provided to initially start the gas cycle. Gas or oil is supplied to pilot 33 from a conduit 34 controlled by a valve 35. Air is supplied to the pilot burner 33 from a branch air conduit 36 and air feed is controlled by a valve 31. Fuel and air feed to burner 33 is varied by valves and 31 in a manner to provide incomplete combustion of this fuel to produce a hot combustible gas. When the chamber I9 is full of made gas, pilot 33 may be cut out and burner I0 started.

In the operation of my device, a portion of the made gas is supplied to burner l0 and air in regulated amounts from air inlet This gas is partially combusted, that is, the air is in insufficient amount to combust the hydrogen or make any CO2, although all of the carbon is burned to form CO. The mass of burning gas is indicated by dotted lines AB. Air from conduit [3 is forced through the spiral conduit l 6 to be preheated and extract heat from the hot gases of partial combustion. This air is then passed into space 4 and out of the gas generator and into the space l8 to flow along the conduit 19. There is little or no interchange of heat between the hot air jacket and the made gases when not over 200 degrees F. difference in temperature exists between them and when only a short time has elapsed for transfer of the gas to the burner. Oil from conduit 22 is sprayed into the throat 2| and is gasified and is maintained in that form due to the stabilizing action of heated air in the space IB surrounding this gas. This heated air all or in part, in turn, is supplied to the burners to support combustion of made gases admitted from the fuelpassage 28.

I The temperature to be aimed at for the mixture of sprayed oil and gases of partial combustion should be about 600 degrees F. so as to be secure from any carbon deposition. To prevent any breakdown of the unstable oil gases before reaching the burner 25, the pipe [9 conveying the above mixture is encased in another pipe 20 making a double shell. The hot air between these shells is maintained at about 450 degrees F. Due to'the relation of made oil gas and heated air and the stabilizing action of the heated air upon the temperature of the oil gas, the oil gas may be conveyed to a burner or burnersloeated at some distance from the gasifier without appreciable change in character of the generated oil gases. One of the essential features of this apparatus is to control the temperature of thegases of partial combustion so that when oil is sprayed into them, there will be enough sensible heat in the gases to gasify the oil but not enough to cause any deposition of carbon. This is brought about by the cooling effect of the air which is passed through the spiral conduit Hi.

This gasification does not make a-fixed gas but the gas or gases are permanent so long as they are kept at a temperature sufliciently high to prevent their reversion in part to liquid form. For instance, gasoline is a gas at its temperature of distillation but at atmospheric pressure and normal temperature it is in liquid form. When I apply generated hot combustible gas to a spray of oil, when the resulting or final temperature is about 650 degrees F., I gasify the oil and not merely vaporize it. I propose also to keep that latter gas at a temperature above its reversion point, and burn a mixture of true gases in the burners, though it is not necessarily a mixture of fixed gases at atmospheric pressure and normal temperature.

The temperature of the hot gases of partial combustion may be from 900 degrees to 1000 degrees F. at the place of spraying oil into same, but the temperature of conversion or lowest temperature after production of the mixture of gases will be not over about 650 degrees, whereby there will be no tendency to produce deposition of carbon as might occur at higher temperatures than 650 degrees F.

I claim:

A method of burning oil which consists in reducing by partial combustion a portion of combustible gas to form carbon monoxide and hydrogen and other gases, spraying into said lastnamed gases, while heated, a portion of oil to produce fuel gases, applying sufiicient heat to the fuel gases prior to burning the same to prevent any reversion of gas to a liquid form, burning the major portion of heated fuel gases with air for complete combustion and diverting the remaining portion of the heated fuel gases to flow partly into the stream of said last-named gases and partly to the zone of partial combustion.

CHARLES B. HILLHOUSE. 

